Stranger
by Kiaye
Summary: AU fic. Tohru has taken off a couple years before college due to a tragic accident. One day, on her way out, she meets a man. Little does she know....
1. Chapter One

Note from Author: Okay...this is my first fic, ever. I know most readers don't review, because I am one of them, but I would really appreciate it if you did, good or bad. I really want to know what you think about my work.  
  
BTW: I do not, sadly enough, own Fruits Basket, nor any of it's characters.  
  
THIS IS AN AU FIC!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Tohru slammed her hand on her side table, hoping to have hit the snooze. She missed.  
"Noooooo!" She moaned. Her alarm had fallen to the floor, yet again. That was the third time this week.  
"Guess now I really have to get up...." The young girl swung her feet over the side of the mattress and stood up. She looked at the alarm clock, still on the floor, and noticed she was twenty minutes late. She cursed under her breath and ran to the bathroom.  
"No time for a shower today." She said quietly. "It's okay, I took a bath yesterday." She raked a brush through her messy bed head and hastily brushed her teeth. Tohru rushed into her room and threw on the clothes she had so carefully picked out last night.  
"No make-up either." She groaned. It was her first day at the college, and she wanted to look good. After all, she hoped there would be so guys...  
"Stupid!" She hit her head with her hands. "No time to think about that now! I have to go!" Tohru ran out the door, grabbing her house keys and her books, headlong into a tall stranger.  
"S-so sorry! I'm late!" She glanced at his face and noticed a base- ball hat and a pair of glasses. And a scowl.  
"It's fine." He said bluntly.  
Tohru took off running down the hall. "I truly apologize! Please forgive me, but I must go!" She raced away, leaving the tall stranger astonished and slightly puzzled.  
"Hmmmmmm, she was rather cute." He thought to himself. The stranger walked down the hall to the parking garage and bleeped his car. He got in, started it, and drove off, still thinking about his pretty brown haired neighbor and her apologizes.  
  
Tohru slid into her seat, just as the bell rang. Wow. I made it just in time! She thought to herself. She looked around the room. I'm the oldest one here! She was amazed. She was, after all, only 25. After her couple years off, and after the accident, Tohru had had to work extremely hard to catch up on all the work she had missed. She was lucky she had even gotten in! ((Note: you'll hear about her past later!))  
The professor walked in and sat his briefcase down at the desk. "Good morning class," He said in a deep, pleasant voice." Today, we have a new student with us." He glanced down at a sheet. "Miss Honda Tohru. Did I say is right?"  
Tohru nodded and stood up. She sat back down and took out her notebook and pen.  
"Hello, Miss Tohru. I am Professor Sohma. Today, class, we will be watching a documentary on the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire. Make sure to take notes."  
Oh goodie. Thought Tohru. The Roman Empire. She looked at the clock. Only 41 minutes left.  
  
Well, that was 'fun'. Now my next class. Tohru walked out of class and turned right toward her geography classroom.  
Bam! She walked right into a broad chest. Again. For the second time that day. She looked up to see a smiling face.  
"So sorry!" He said. "That was my fault. Wasn't paying attention to where I was walking!"  
"N-no." She stuttered, "That was me. I was trying to walk and look at my schedule at the same time. I beg your pardon."  
He grinned. "Don't worry about it. It was me too. By the way, I'm Yuki Sohma. And you are?"  
"I'm Honda Tohru." She held out her hand. "Nice to meet you. Wait, Sohma, like Professor Sohma?"  
"Yeah." He replied. "Cousins. Are you a student?"  
"Uh-huh." She nodded. "New student."  
"Well, the pleasure is all...." A deep voice cut Yuki off.  
"Get in here Yuki! We have some thinks to talk about!" Shouted Professor Sohma. Yuki said goodbye and apologized.  
"Hope to see you again! Oh, and sorry for keeping you!" Tohru yelled after him and he walked away. Jeez! I really am being a klutz today. But it was really worth it! Tohru rushed off to her next class, hoping not to be late. 


	2. Chapter Two

A/N- I have decided to use a tactic another author uses that seems to work. Until I get 10 reviews, I will not put up another chapter. Sorry, but that's the way life is!  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Tohru was exhausted. Who knew college would be so difficult? But she had been right. There were quite a few hot guys.... Tohru hit her head.  
  
Stop thinking about that! It's so unlike you! She yelled silently to herself.  
  
Tohru got back to work on her essay. She couldn't believe that the teacher had given homework on the first day! And a 500-word essay on the Roman Empire to boot! Professor Sohma was a difficult teacher. Sure, in class he gave little work. But at home, it was tedious.  
  
She finished half her essay and decided she was hungry. Tohru walked into her small kitchen and looked through the cupboard. Empty. That's right! She was supposed to go shopping... Question was: With what money? She was broke.  
  
After hunting around a bit, Tohru found a pack of ramen, a pot, a bowl, and a pair of chopsticks. Filling the pot with water and putting it on the stove, she sat down on her counter top.  
  
"Life is just too hard. Too hard to bear!" She exclaimed out loud. "It took me years to get over the accident and to get into Tokyo University. I can't quite now!"  
  
FLASHBACK  
  
Tohru screamed. The car was headed right towards her. A black Sedan was coming full speed toward Tohru. She was laying on the ground, in the middle of the street. What was she doing there? People around her were asking. Simple, she mentally answered them, I was trying to get my cat out from under the car, where she was hiding.  
  
Suddenly, a blur of red and a hard landing later, Tohru was knocked unconscious. She woke up hours later, alone in a hospital bed. She had no memory of anything that had happened in the past. None, whatsoever.  
  
For months afterward, Tohru focused all her energy on catching up with her schoolwork. It had taken her seven years, but she was finally back to herself.  
END FLASHBACK  
  
Tohru jumped out of her thoughts. Her ramen was done and was about ready to burn. She quickly turned off the burner and poured the dinner into her bowl. She took the bowl back to her room and continued working on her essay.  
  
The ramen lay forgot at the side of her computer as Tohru roused herself awake. She took a look at her digital clock and groaned. It was 4:32 in the morning. She rubbed her sleep encrusted eyes and checked the computer screen. Well, at least the essay was done. She printed it out and saved her work. Shutting down the computer, Tohru brought her uneaten dinner into the kitchen and dumped it out. Stumbling back into her room, she tried hopelessly to get back to sleep.  
  
When that didn't work, Tohru heaved herself up and went into the bathroom. As hshe got ready for today lessons, she thought again of the mysterious stranger she had bumped into yesterday, and hoped she would bump into him again.  
  
Tohru, actually a little early today, walked out of her apartment and locked the door. Today, she would take her time, relax, and grab something to eat on her way to school. Turning around, she spotted the man from yesterday. He had on the same hat, but no glasses. Tohru decided that she should probably go and apologize, maybe see if he would accept a cup of coffee at the café down the street as an apology.  
  
She walked over and tapped the man on the shoulder. She hadn't realized how tall he was yesterday. As he turned around, she noticed that he was, indeed, wearing his sunglasses. She was disappointed.  
  
"Excuse me, sir, but I just came to apologize for bumping into you yesterday because I was in a bit of a hurry and wanted to get to class on time and I didn't see you walking by and I hope you can forgive me and maybe we could get a cup of coffee at the café down the street my treat as a way to ask for forgiveness..."  
  
He held up a hand to stop her. "Don't worry about it. It was my fault too. I wasn't paying attention. Don't worry about it." He said.  
  
As he started to walk away, Tohru finally gained back her thoughts. The voice, deep and smooth, rang in her head. Where did she remember it from?  
  
Looking at her watch, Tohru realized that her little off-course, spur of the moment decision had made her late again. She rushed off to class, hoping once more, to get there on time. 


End file.
